What all this means for our future farming success. Soil Health Workshop The Dalles, OR November 16, 2017

Transcription

1 What all this means for our future farming success Soil Health Workshop The Dalles, OR November 16, 2017

2 More and more, says Secretary of Agriculture Wickard, agriculture is becoming an exact science. To be successful, a farmer must know a great deal about his land and the products he plans to raise. American Historical Association

3 Soil Stewardship Soils are not going to improve on their own Time will not solve acidity and nutrient problems Creative problem solving Working together to learn, repair, and improve Leaving the land better than we found it

4 Author: William McKibben

5 Soil bacteria and soil fungi are the start of the soil food web that supports other soil organisms and the functions of a healthy soil Can American soil be brought back to life? A new idea: If we revive the tiny creatures that make dirt healthy, we can bring back the great American topsoil. But farming culture and government aren't making it easy. JENNY HOPKINSON POLITICO

6 Both winter wheat plants are 8 months since planting 4.3 ph 5.9 ph

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8 * At least 80% of the soil in northern Idaho and eastern Washington (Palouse) will someday require lime to produce maximum potential crop yields. Mahler 1986

9 We started farming in the Palouse in We started with wheat production and transitioned into a wheat, pea rotation later on. We started transitioning out of peas in 1992 to chickpeas. We continued our same fertility/tillage program until around We wanted to raise more DNS so decided to use bio-solids to help with our nutrient requirements. We were starting to see variable yield results in our wheat and legumes. We went away from the plow. In 2013, we started to notice problems in our club wheat (twisted roots, double cotyledons), but really did not address the issue at that time. We thought maybe there might be a soil fertility issue but let it go.

10 In the spring of 2014, we had major issues in our chickpeas. Pythium resistance was found in large patches throughout some fields. WSU addressed the issue and Intego was registered in time for our next garb planting (2017). The following wheat crops (2015 and 2016) were adequate in the those affected fields and we did not notice any difference. In 2017 we called WSU again because our garbs looked like in the same areas as We thought resistance to Intego: no, that was not the problem. What the HE double toothpicks is going on?

11 Soil samples taken and analyzed within the last month between good and poor sections of field. Good Poor ph = 5.54 ph = 5.19 OM = 6.22 OM = 5.46 NO3 = 64 NO3 = 39 S = 13 S = 16 Mn = 72 Mn = 102 Al = 10 Al = 12 Base sat = 75 Base sat = 72

12 Conservation and low-impact farming keep the land healthy for future generations. God willing I ve got another 20-plus crop seasons in me, he says, so if that s the case, then I ve got some time to improve my land, not just for me, for the next generation as well.

13 Ross started farming when he was 19 years old, and he realized fairly early that to stay in the game he had to think down the road to preserve his land and protect the health of his soil. His commitment is visible in his fields. He knows that the land will endure and while the farm is in his hands he will continue to make conservation a strategic part of sustaining their farm. It s a learning process every year and every day, he says.

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15 You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. Abraham Lincoln Soil Stewardship

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17 Mid-Columbia Small Grains Soil ph Workshop Learn about: Significance of soil ph in the region Soil ph and nutrient stratification surveys Essential nutrients Impact of cropping systems Economics of liming Impacts of ph on crop diseases and pesticides Current research in mitigating ph issues ATI Morrow County Grain Growers North Central Ag Simplot SHILO INN, 3223 BRET CLODFELTER WAY, THE DALLES